Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1887-06-04
CHAPTER v.

CHAPTER V.
| DREAMS AND FooLIsHNEss. 6
! When John Mel left Bessie on the veranda
at the approach of Frank Muller he had
taken his gun, and, having whistled to the
pointer dog Pontiac, mounted bis shooting
pony and started out in quest of partridges
On the warm slopes of the hills round WAX,
kerstroom large species of partridge is very
abundant, especially in the patches Of red
grass in which they are sometimes clothed
1t is merry sound to hear these partridges
calling from all directions just after day
break, and one TO make the heart Of every
true sportsman rejoice exceedingly. On leav-
ing the house John proceeded up the side Of
the hill behind it--his pony picking its way
! carefully between the stones, and the dog
! Pontiac ranging about 200 or 800 yards off, for
IN this sort of country it Is necessary to have
a dog with wide range. Presently John
saw him stop under q mimosa thorn and sud-
denly stiffen out as if he had been petrifed,
and made the best of his way toward him.
Pontiac stood still for a few seconds, and then
slowly and deliberately veered his head
round, as though it worked on hinge, to see
If his master were coming. John knew his
ways Three times would that remarkable
old dog look round thus, and if the gun had
not then arrived he would to a certainty run
in and flush the birds. This was a rule that
he never broke, for his patience had fixed
limit On this occasion, fowever, John
arrived before it was reached, and, jumping
1 Off his pony, cooked his gun and marched
slowly up, full of happy expectation. On
drew the dog, his eye cold and fixed, saliva
dropping from his mouth, and his head and
face, on which was frozen an extraordinary
expression of instructive ferocity, outstretched
TO their utmost limit.
He was right under the mimosa thorn now
and up to his belly in warm, red grass.
| Where could the birds bei Whirrl and a
great feathered shell seemed to have burst at
his very feet. What coveyi twelve brace
If there was a bird, and they had all been
! lying beals to beak in space no bigger than
a cartwheel. Up went Johns gun and off
| too, little sooner than it should have DONE
"Missed him cleanl Now then for the left
barrel" Same result. There, we will draw
a veil over. the profanity that ensued. A
minute later and it was all over, and John
and Pontiac were regarding each other with
contempt and disgust.
at was all you, you BRUTE" said John to
Pontiac u thought you were going to run
in, and you hurried me-"
"Ughl" said Pontiac to John, or, at least,
he looked it. "Ughl you disgusting bad shot
What is the good Of pointing for youi It's
enough to make dog sick"
The covey-or rather the collection of old
birds, for this kind of partridge sometimes
| packs just before the breeding season-had
scattered all about the place, and it was not
long before Pontiac found some of them; and
this time John got one bird-and beautiful
| great partridge he was, too, with yellow legs
and missed another Again Pontiac pointed,
and a brace rose. Bangl down goes one
bangl with the other barrel Caught him, by
Jove, just as he topped the stone. Hulloi
Pontiac is still on the point. Slip in two more
cartridges Oh, a leash this time! bang!
] bang and down came brace Of them-twc
| brace of partridge without moving yard.
Life has joys for all men, but it has, l verify
believe, no joy to compare to the joy of the
moderate shot and earnest sportsman when
lie has just killed half a dozen driven par
| sridges without a miss, or ten rocketing
| oheasants with eleven cartridges, or, better
| still, couple of woodcock right and left
| By this time he was right across the mount
ain top and on the brink of the most remark
able chasln he had ever seen. The place was
known as Lions Kloof, or Leuw Kloof in
/ Dutch, because three lions had once been
/ penned up by party Of Beers and shot there.
The chasm or gorge was between a quarter
and half mile long, about 600 feet in width
and 150 to lS0 feet deep. About 100 PAGES
from the near end of the gorge, some ninety
or more feet in height, stood the most remark
able of these mighty pillars, to which the re-
mains at Stonehenge are but toys. 1t was
formed of seven huge bowlders the largest,
that at the bottom, about the size of moder-
ate cottage, and the smallest, that at the top,
perhaps some eight or ten feet in diameter.
These powders were rounded like cricket
Dall-evidcntly through the action.of water
and yet the hand of nature had contrived to
balance them, each one smaller than that be-
meath, the one upon the other, and to keep
them so. But this was not always the case,
For instance, very similar mass that had
risen on the near side of the perfect pillar had
fallen, all except the two bottom stones,
and the bowlders that went to form it lay
scattered about like monstrous petrified can
non balls One of these had split in two, and
seated on it John discovered none other than
Jess Croft, apparently engaged in sSetching,
looking very small and far of at the bottom
of that vast chasm.
John got Oft his shooting pony, and looking
about him perceived that it was possible to
descend by following the course of the stream
and clambering down the natural Steps it had
cut in the rocky bed. Throwing the reins
over the pony's head, and leaving him with
the dog Pontiac to stand and look about him
as South African shooting pol.ies are ao-
customed to do. he put down his gun and
game and proceeded TO descend. As he drew
near the bottom of the gorge he saw that near
the borders of the stream, wherever the soil
was moist, grew thousands upon thousands OF
white arum lilies, "pig lilies" they call them
there, just now in full bloom. He had noticed
these lilies from above, but there they had
owing to the distance, looked so small that he
had taken them for everlastings on anemones.
He could not see jess now, for she was hidden
by bush that grows by the banks of the
streams in South Africa in low lying land
and which at certain seasons of the year is
literally covered with masses Of the most
gorgeous scarlet bloom. His footsteps fell
very softly on the moss aud flowers, and when
ha oOt round tho glnriois lnokinO hIIsh IL WAS